Neosphere Ambiance Pvt. Ltd.

01/01/2014

Dear All,

For a happy New Year, just stick to some simple and basic rules. Have faith in yourself and your abilities. Count your blessings before you cry on your misfortunes. Learn to take each day one at a time. Create opportunities for yourself for quitting is never an option. Above all accomplish all you take under your wings - never abandon without completion...... Have a wonderful new year ahead..... God Bless you all.....:)

23/12/2013

BIOMASS & BIOENERGY

We have used biomass energy or bioenergy - the energy from organic matter - for thousands of years, ever since people started burning wood to cook food or to keep warm.

And today, wood is still our largest biomass energy resource. But many other sources of biomass can now be used, including plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills can be used as a biomass energy source.

The use of biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass generates about the same amount of carbon dioxide as fossil fuels, but every time a new plant grows, carbon dioxide is actually removed from the atmosphere. The net emission of carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants continue to be replenished for biomass energy purposes. These energy crops, such as fast-growing trees and grasses, are called biomass feedstocks. The use of biomass feedstocks can also help increase profits for the agricultural industry.

22/05/2013

Environmental Issues on disposal of Plastic Waste :

Indiscriminate littering of unskilled recycling/reprocessing and non-biodegradability of plastic waste raises the following environmental issues:
• During polymerization process fugitive emissions are released.
• During product manufacturing various types of gases are released.
• Indiscriminate plastic waste disposal on land makes the land infertile due to its impervious nature.
• Burning of plastics generates toxic emissions such as Carbon Monoxide, Chlorine, Hydrochloric Acid, Dioxin, Furans, Amines, Nitrides, Styrene, Benzene, 1, 3- butadiene, CCl4, and Acetaldehyde.
• Lead and Cadmium pigments, commonly used in LDPE, HDPE and PP as additives are toxic and are known to leach out.
• Non-recyclable plastic wastes such as multilayer, metalised pouches and other thermoset plastic poses disposal problems.
• Sub-standard plastic bags, films etc. pose problem in collection and recycling.
• Littered plastics give unaesthetic look and choke the drain.
• Garbage mixed with plastics interferes in waste processing facilities and also cause problems in landfill operations.
• Recycling industries operating in non-conforming areas are posing environment problems due to unsound recycling practices.

22/05/2013

What are plastics?

“Plastics are non-biodegradable, synthetic polymers derived primarily from petro-fossil feedstock and made-up of long chain hydrocarbons with additives and can be moulded into finished products (excluding compostable plastic or polymer confirming IS/ISO 17088:2008). These polymers are broken in presence of suitable catalyst, into monomers such as ethylene, propylene, vinyl, styrene and benzene. These monomers are then chemically polymerized into different categories of plastics.

Plastic products have become an integral part in our daily life as a basic need. It produced on a massive scale worldwide and its production crosses the 150 million tonnes per year globally. In India approximately 8 Million tonnes plastic products are consumed every year (2008). Its broad range of application in films, wrapping materials, shopping and garbage bags, fluid containers, clothing, toys, household and industrial products, and building materials. It is a fact that plastics will never degrade and remains on landscape for several years. Mostly, plastics are recyclable but recycled products are more hazardous to the environment than the virgin products. The recycling of a virgin plastic material can be done 2-3 time only, because after every recycling, the plastic material is deteriorated due to thermal pressure. Considering, 70% of plastic consumption is converted as waste, approximately 5.6 million tons per annum (TPA) plastic waste is generated in country, which equals to 15342 tons per day (TPD).

Some Recyclable Plastics (Thermoplastics): PET, HDPE, LDPE, PP, PVC, PS, etc.

Non-Recyclable Plastics (Thermoset & others): Multilayer & Laminated Plastics, PUF, Bakelite, Polycarbonate, Melamine, Nylon etc.

WAY FORWARD FOR ACTIVE MEASURES:

A) Setting-up of systematic mechanism for plastic waste collection, segregation and disposal;
B) Recycling of plastic waste in an environmental friendly manner
C) Closure of industries in non-conforming areas
D) Utilization of plastic waste in road construction (Polymer-coating over stone aggregate);
E) Co-processing of plastic waste in cement kiln;.
F) Widespread mass awareness programme on use of plastic packaging, and its impact on environment, on littering;
G) Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in management of plastic waste;
H) Use of bags made from alternate materials i.e. biodegradable and compostable films, jute cloth, paper etc.

Have a mantra for using Plastics: RECYCLE, REUSE, REDUCE......!!!!

03/01/2013

Source: Times of India
NEW DELHI: It was the coldest day in 43 years in the national capital on Wednesday with the maximum temperature settling at 9.8 degrees celsius, 11 notches below what is the average for the season.

"It is the first time since 1969 that the maximum temperature has settled at 11 notches below average," a Met department official told IANS.

The minimum temperature dipped to 4.8 degrees celsius which also went two notches below average.

This made for the coldest 24 hours in the capital.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-temperature-breaks-43-year-record/articleshow/17863093.cms

It was the coldest day in 43 years in the national capital on Wednesday with the maximum temperature settling at 9.8 degrees celsius, 11 notches below what is the average for the season.

03/01/2013

Global temperatures are forecast to be 0.57 degrees

UK's Met Office sees 2013 likely to be one of warmest on record
Global temperatures are forecast to be 0.57 degrees above the long-term average next year, making 2013 one of the warmest years on record, Britain's Met Office said on Thursday.

"It is very likely that 2013 will be one of the warmest 10 years in the record which goes back to 1850, and it is likely to be warmer than 2012," the Met Office said in its annual forecast for the coming year.

Next year was expected to be between 0.43 and 0.71 degrees Celsius warmer than the long-term global average of 14 degrees (1961-1990), with a best estimate of around 0.57, it said.

03/01/2013

California agency raises issues over proposed solar project

California Energy Commission staff on Friday said BrightSource Energy's proposed 500-megawatt Hidden Hills solar thermal power project would have "significant" impact on the environment.

In a statement on the final staff assessment, the state's primary energy planning and policy agency cited impacts on "biological resources, cultural resources, land use, and visual resources" even if recommended mitigation measures are implemented.

BrightSource said the company is looking forward to the formal evidentiary hearings upon which the Commission will base its final decision.

03/01/2013

Illegal quarrying posing threat to Edakkal caves

While the government is seeking world heritage status for the Edakkal Caves on the Ambukuthy hills in Wayanad district, famous for its Neolithic petroglyphs, illegal granite quarrying and fast urbanisation in the vicinity of the caves are posing a serious threat to the rock engravings.

The government had banned all types of construction activities on the premises of the caves to conserve the rock engravings a few years ago. But, construction work for shopping complexes, on both sides of the road to the caves, and illegal quarrying by using explosives have been going on without constraint. The impact of the activities is posing a serious threat to the rock shelters.

03/01/2013

Reliance Power commissions second 300 MW unit of Butibori project
Company's operating capacity reaches 1,840 Mw

Reliance Power Ltd (RPL) today announced it has commissioned the second 300 Megawatt (Mw) unit of its Butibori power plant at Nagpur in Maharashtra. This will help ease power availability for industrial units and distribution utilities in the power-starved state. The first 300 Mw unit of the project was commissioned in August this year. With the coming of the second unit on-stream, the total operating capacity of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) subsidiary has reached 1,840 Mw.

02/01/2013

Electricity Saving Tips

Why should we save energy...???
Using energy wisely means being efficient.
We use energy everyday at home, at school, at work, and even when you're playing.
By saving energy you're helping to save the world's energy resources like coal, gas, oil and water and you're also saving money on your utility bills.
Best of all, by using energy wisely we can cut down on pollutants in the air and water,
making a better environment for everyone.
Think about what would happen if there wasn't enough energy. . . there would be no light to turn on when it got dark . . . there would not be any hot water for the shower or heat for your house in the winter . . . no gas or oil to drive the car . . . so there are lots of reasons we should save energy.

Use the following simple guidelines for saving electricity and cutting down your energy bill

(A) At Home
- The lights and television use electrical energy, so when you leave the room, shut them off.
- During the day when it is brighter outside, open the curtains and use the sunlight instead of turning on the lights.
- Don't leave windows or doors open when the air conditioning is on. This makes the AC have to work harder to cool a room.
- When you have a sunny day, help hang the Clothes outside instead of using the dryer.

Lighting
- Turn off the lights when not in use
- Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to pe*****te the room. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.
- De-dust lighting fixtures to maintain illumination.
- Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL) are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same for lighting.
- Use electronic chokes in place of conventional copper chokes.
Slim tube lights give better light and consume less electricity than the filament lamps.

Fans & Electric Iron
- Replace conventional regulators with electronic regulators for ceiling fans.
- Install exhaust fans at a higher elevation than ceiling fans.
- Select iron boxes with automatic temperature cutoff.
- Use appropriate regulator position for ironing.
- Do not put more water on clothes while ironing.
- Do not iron wet clothes.

Electronic Devices
- Do not switch on the power when TV and Audio Systems are not in use.Idle
operation leads to an energy loss of 10 watts /device.
- Turn off your home office equipment when not in use.
- A computer that runs 24 hours a day, for instance, uses – more power than an
energy-efficient refrigerator.
- If your computer must be left on, turn off the monitor; this device alone uses more
than half the system's energy.
- Setting computers, monitors, and copiers to use sleep-mode when not in use
helps cut energy costs by approximately 40%.
- Battery chargers, such as those for laptops, cell phones and digital cameras,
draw power whenever they are plugged in and are very inefficient. Pull the plug and save.
- Screen savers save computer screens, not energy. Start-ups and shutdowns do
not use any extra energy, nor are they hard on your computer components. In fact, shutting computers down when you are finished using them actually reduces system wear and saves energy.

Air Conditioner
- Prefer air conditioners having automatic temperature cut off.
- Keep regulators at “low cool” position.
- Operate the ceiling fan in conjunction with your window air conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively throughout the room and operate the air conditioner at higher temperature.
- Seal the doors and windows properly.
- Leave enough space between your air conditioner and the walls to allow better air circulation.
- A roof garden can reduce the load on Air Conditioner
- Use windows with sun films/curtains.
- Set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible in the summer. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower will be energy consumption.
- Don't set your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling.
- Don't place lamps or TV sets near your air-conditioning thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
- Plant trees or shrubs to shade air-conditioning units but not to block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun.
- Keep doors to the outside closed when the heat or air conditioning is on. Every time you open a door while the heating or cooling system is operating, lots of expensive heated or cooled air escapes. That's why it helps to close them quickly when you come in or go out of the house.

Kitchen Appliances
Mixers
- Avoid dry grinding in your food processors (mixers and grinders) as it takes longer time than liquid grinding.

Microwaves ovens
- Consumes 50 % less energy than conventional electric / gas stoves.
- Do not bake large food items.
- Don't open the oven door too often to check food condition as each opening leads to a temperature drop of 25°C.

Electric stove
- Turn off electric stoves several minutes before the specified cooking time.
- Use flat-bottomed pans that make full contact with the cooking coil.

Gas stove
- When cooking on a gas burner, use moderate flame settings to conserve LPG.
- Remember that a blue flame means your gas stove is operating efficiently.
- Yellowish flame is an indicator that the burner needs cleaning.
- Use pressure cookers as much as possible.
- Use lids to cover the pans while cooking.
- Bring items taken out of refrigerators (like vegetables, milk etc) to room
temperature before placing on the gas stove for heating.
- Use Solar Water Heater – a good replacement for a electric water heater.

Refrigerator
- Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup
increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running.
- Leave enough space between your refrigerator and the walls so that air can
easily circulate around the refrigerator.
- Don't keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold.
- Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight.

How to Check that refrigerator door seals are proper :
- Use a slip of paper to check the door seal. Close the door on the paper, then see if you can pull it out easily. If it pulls right out, your door may need new seals or the refrigerator may need to be replaced. If it sticks snugly in place and you have to tug to get it out, that means the door seals are working properly.
- Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release
moisture and make the compressor work harder.
- Do not open the doors of the refrigerators frequently.
- Don't leave the fridge door open for longer than necessary, as cold air will
escape.
- Use smaller cabinets for storing frequently used items.
- Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge.
- Plan ahead what you need from the refrigerator before opening the door. This
saves energy by keeping the time the door is open as short as possible.

Bathroom Geyser
- The electricity consumption by your geyser can be considerably reduced if the
members of your family bathe in quick succession and switch it off as soon as it is no longer required.

Washing Machine
- Always wash only with full loads.
- Use optimal quantity of water.
- Use timer facility to save energy.
- Use the correct amount of detergent.
- Use hot water only for very dirty clothes.
- Always use cold water in the rinse cycle.
- Prefer natural drying over electric dryers.

(B) At Shops and Business Establishments
- Avoid excessive illumination. Please keep only as many fans and lights on as
you need.
- Do not use neon sign boards. Use only painted sign boards.
- Use energy saving compact fluorescent lamps for the illumination of your shops,
showrooms, or hotels.
- Try to switch on your room air conditioners and coolers at least one hour late and
switch off one hour early. Preferably, do not use these heavy duty appliances.
- Please close the shops and showrooms precisely by 8 p.m. at night.
- Use solar water heaters for hot water requirements of your hotels and lodges.

(C) At Farms
- Provide shunt capacitors at terminals of your three-phase motor to help reduce current and ensure longer life to your pump set.
- Use rigid PVC pipes to get more discharge.
- Avoid sharp bends and too many joints in the suction and delivery lines.
- Use low-resistance foot valves.
- Lubricate pump sets at regular intervals.
- Choose suitable crop mix so that at least one crop in a year is grown with least water consumption.

01/01/2013

MOST OXYGEN SUPPLYING PLANTS

It's common knowledge that plants produce oxygen, but which plants are most responsible for creating the air we breathe? Can you use plants to create cleaner air inside your home? The answers to these questions can be found by understanding a little about which plants generate the most oxygen and which plants will thrive in your home.......!!!!!

MARINE PLANTS
According to Ecology.com, "It is estimated that between 70% and 80% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by marine plants." Because so many species of marine plant life are technically algae, that makes algae the plant singly responsible for producing most of the oxygen we breathe. The earth contains almost three times as much water surface as land surface, so it stands to reason that marine plant life produces much more oxygen than land plants. Ocean plants may be difficult to see because they often span great distances under water, but they are essential to our atmosphere.

LEAFY PLANTS
Oxygen is released into the air through plant leaves. On average, leaves produce about 5 milliliters of oxygen per hour. So plants that have more leaves produce more oxygen than plants with few leaves. Therefore, large trees or leafy vines produce more oxygen than weak, sparse foliage. In addition, larger leaves produce more oxygen than smaller ones.

HEART-LEAF PHILODENDRON
If you're looking to add clean air to your home, consider adding a heart-leaf philodendron to your decor. This plant variety has evergreen vines that are easy to grow and maintain, and it is recommended as one of the top houseplants for improving indoor air quality by Clean Air Gardening. On mature plants, the dark-green leaves can grow up to 12 inches long.

PEACE LILY
The peace lily is another recommended plant for clearing indoor air. With long, oval foliage, there is plenty of leaf surface to add oxygen back into the air. The peace lily is easy to care for and blooms in beautiful white flowers.

BAMBOO PALM
The bamboo (or ladyfinger) palm is an excellent indoor plant and helps to create clean indoor air and fresh oxygen. Its trunks are reed-like, and perhaps its most distinctive feature is the foliage that resembles fingers on a hand. This slow-growing plant can reach up to 10 feet tall.